US court permits Sikh group to summon Manmohan Singh

By Agencies |Posted 02-Mar-2014

Sikhs For Justice have accused him of funding crimes against humanity perpetrated upon the Sikh community in India

New York: A Washington federal judge in Washington has granted a Sikh rights group’s plea to serve summons on Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in India in a case of alleged violation of human rights during his tenure.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh

The court had issued summons against Manmohan Singh during his September 2013 visit to Washington on a plea by Sikhs For Justice (SFJ) accusing him of “funding crimes against humanity perpetrated upon the Sikh community in India”.

Judge James E. Boasberg on Friday ordered that “plaintiffs shall by April 14, 2014, either file proof of service or file a status report updating the Court on their progress in effecting service”.

SFJ has also alleged that Manmohan Singh, as finance minister of India, funded several counter insurgency operations in Punjab during the 1990s resulting in more than hundred thousand Sikhs being killed extrajudicially by Indian security forces.

Under Alien Tort Claims Act (ATCA) and Torture Victim Protection Act (TVPA), US federal courts have jurisdiction over cases of human rights violations even if they have occurred on foreign soils as in this case, Pannun said.